Roof ventilator



May 19, 1953 A, 'SITRAWSINE 2,638,835

RQOF VENTILATOR Fla-8d May 1'7, 1951 INVENTOR." fez/v A drenwwe Patented May 19, 1953 ROOF VENTILATOR Fern A. Strawsine, Corunna, Mich.

Application May 17, 1951, Serial No. 226,859

1 Claim.

This invention relates in general to a weather proof ventilator mountable upon a substantially horizontal roof having a circular opening therethrough and an air space between the upper and lower surfaces thereof, and particularly to a type of ventilator having means for exhausting the space below said lower surface as well as the said air space.

Owners and manufacturers of compact, movable living quarters, such as coach type trailers, have long recognized the need for, and present lack of, a completely satisfactory ventilator for such trailers. The ventilation of said trailers involves several unique considerations, some of which are: (1) the ventilator must be light in weight, (2) it must have a pleasing external appearance, (3) it must be externally streamlined, (4) it must be weather proof and (5) it is preferably designed for installation in the roof of the coach to conserve wall space.

Due to the limited space in the average coach trailer and its normal continuous exposure to the direct radiation of the sun, said trailer must be continually ventilated, particularly during warm weather, and yet the ventilator must be so constructed as to protect the interior of the trailer against the entry of rain or snow.

In present roof ventilators for a coach trailer, and similar applications, an external hat-ch must be opened and left open when the ventilator is in operation, thereby exposing the interior of the coach to damage from rain and the like while the coach is either standing or moving. Further, present ventilators do not exhaust the hot air which accumulates in the air space which is sometimes provided between the upper and lower surfaces of the roof, as well as its walls.

Accordingly, a primary object of this invention is the provision of a ventilator for installation in the roof of a compact living space, including both the type thereof wherein the air space within the roof between the inner and outer, or upper and lower, surfaces thereof is left empty and the type thereof where such space is filled with insulation, such as of the glass fiber or rock wool type.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a ventilator, as aforesaid, havingjmeans for exhausting air bothfrom said living space and said air space.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a ventilator, as aforesaid, which requires no more space within the coach than is required by present ventilators, and which has a streamlined and pleasant external appearance.

Other objects of this invention will become apparent to persons familiar with this type of equipment upon referring to the accompanying drawing and upon reading the following specification.

In the drawing: Figure 1 is a broken, side elevation view of a coach type trailer with my improved ventilator mounted thereon.

Figure 2 is a sectional view substantially as taken along the line III-II of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view substantially as taken along the line III-III of Figure 2.

General description In meeting those objects heretofore mentioned,

Detailed description As shown in Figures 2 and 3, my improved ventilator i0 is comprised of an outer cylinder I I of relatively short axial length, an inner cylinder 12 supporting an axial flow fan l3, and a streamlined weather cap or dome [4, all of which are either directly or indirectly supported upon the substantially horizontal roof ii of a conventional coach type trailer I6 (Figure 1), said roof having a cylindrical opening ii therethrough.

The outer cylinder l I is provided with a radially, outwardly extending mounting flange I8 which, in this embodiment, is substantially rectangular and is secured, as by welding, to the lower edge of said outer cylinder. is provided with a plurality of screw openings 20 near the edges thereof whereby said flange may be secured with screws 2| (Figure 2) to the upper and outer panel 22 of the roof 15 in a conventional manner. The roof l5, being of a conventional type, has a lower panel 23 separated from, and secured to, the upper panel 22 in a conven tional manner by means of the spacing elements 24, thereby providing an air space 25 in the roof I between said upper and lower panels.

The cylindrical opening I? in the roof I5 is preferably substantially equal in diameter to the inside diameter of the outer cylinder II and extends through both said upper and lower panels. The inner cylinder I2, which in a preferred embodiment of the invention is somewhat longer axially than said outer cylinder II, is snugly but slidably receivable within both said cylindrical opening I1 and said outer cylinder I I. Accordingly, in the event that the inner cylinder I2 is axially slightly longer than the thickness of the roof I5, in a particular application, said inner cylinder I2 may be telescopically received upwardly into the outer cylinder II.

The inner cylinder I2 is provided with one or more vent openings 26 through the sidewalls thereof, said openings being arranged to communicate with the air space in'the roof I5. The inner cylinder I2 is secured to the sidewalls of the cylindrical opening I? in the roof I5 by any convenient, conventional means, such as the screws 27.

A mounting bar 25, which is diametrically disposed with respect to the cylinder I2, is secured at its ends, as by welding, to the upper edge of the inner cylinder I2. An electric motor 29, or similar means, may be secured to and suspended from the mounting bar 28 midway between the ends thereof, and an axial flow fan I3 is mounted upon the shaft SI of the motor 29, said shaft being coaxial with the inner cylinder I2.

A protective device or insect barrier 32, such as a grill, damper or shutter, may be mounted on the lower surface of the lower panel 23 over the lower end of the inner cylinder I2, as may be desired or required.

A plurality, here four, of mounting brackets having L-shaped body portions 35 are secured at appropriate points upon the upper surface of the mounting flange Iii preferablyadjacent to the edges thereof, as by welding a leg 3'! of said body portion 35 thereto. The other leg 38 of each bracket extends upwardly from said flange IS a distance substantially less than the upward extent of the outer cylinder I I. A channel member 36 is secured, as by welding one leg thereof, to

each vertical leg 3%! near the upper end thereof so that said channel opens upwardly.

The dome I4 (Figures 1 and 2), which is substantially wider and longer than the diameter of the outer cylinder I I,-is provided with an integral, downwardly extending, peripheral flange 34, the lower edge of which is receivable into said channel members 36. The free leg of each channel is then bent toward the bracket leg 33, thereby gripping the edge of the peripheral flange 34. Although the brackets 33 provide a simple, effective means for securing the dome I4 with respei t to the mounting flange It, it will be understood that other similar devices may be used without departing from the scope of this invention.

Whenthe peripheral flange 34 is engaged by said channel members 36, it overlaps the upwardly eatending outer cylinder I I, thereby impeding the entrance of rain, snow and other similar undesirable elements into the upper, open end of the outer cylinder I I. However, it has been found that the peripheral flange 3:! alone does not positively prevent such entrance of elements under certain conditions. For example, rain striking the reef I5 at an angle adjacent to the flange 3,4

will splash under the flange 34 into the outer cylinder II.

Accordingly, a cylindrical splash baffle or collar lI (Figures 2 and 3) having an internal diameter substantially larger than the external diameter of the outer cylinder Ii, is supported upon and within the dome I4 by means of the brackets 42. The collar III, which is co-axial with, and overlaps, the outer cylinder II, extends downwardly from the dome I4 to a point spaced slightly upwardly from the lower edge of the flange 34 and intermediate the outer cylinder I I and said flange 34.

The ventilator II] is designed so that the minimum area between the lower edge of the peripheral flange 34 and the roof I5, the minimum area between the lower edge of the splash collar 4| and the roof I5, the minimum area between the splash collar ll and the outer cylinder II, the minimum area between the upper edge of the outer cylinder I I and the dome Hi, the minimum area between the motor 29 and the inner cylinder I2 and the maximum open area through the protective device 32 are all substantially equal. Thus,

back pressure, resulting from restricted openings between the fan I3 and atmosphere, will not be developed.

Further, the above mentioned areas are precisely designed with regard to the C. F. M. of the Operation After the ventilator I0 is assembled upon the roof I5, substantially as described, hereinabove, it is ready for operation. When the axial flow fan I3 is rotated by the motor 29, air is drawn inwardly through the inner cylinder I2 past the vent openings 26 in the sidewall thereof, and exhausted upwardly through the outer cylinder II, over the upper edges thereof, beneath the collar 4! and expelled to atmosphere between the peripheral flange 34 and the mounting flange I8.

As the air passes the vent openings 26, the velocity thereof aspirates the air from the air space 25, through the vent openings 26 into the cylinder I 2, whereupon it is exhausted to atmosphere as described above. Thus, any accumulation of hot air in the air space 25 is removed therefrom, and air displaced from the air space 25, as well as from the coach I6, will be replaced by cooler and fresher air from the atmosphere, in a conventional manner.

Due to the telescopic overlap of the collar II and the peripheral flange 34 of the dome I4 with the outer cylinder I I, and the particular arrangement of the collar 4I rain, snow and other types of undesirable elements are prevented from entering the coach I6 through the outer cylinder I I and damaging the interior thereof. However, the spacing between the dome I I and both the outer cylinder I I and the mounting flange I8 provides adequate outlet for the air exhausted by the fan I3.

It will be noted that the particular arrangement of the dome I4 with respect to the outer cylinder II renders the ventilator II) weather proof regardless of whether the coach I6, upon which the ventilator I0 is mounted, is moving or standing still, and regardless of whether the ventilator is or is not, in operation.

Although the above mentioned drawing and description apply to one: particular, preferred embodiment of the invention, it is not my intention, implied or otherwise, to eliminate other variations or modifications which do not depart from the scope of the invention unless specifically stated to the contrary in the hereinafter appended claim.

I claim:

In a ventilator mountable upon a substantially horizontal roof having an air space between the upper and lower surfaces thereof and a circular opening therethrough, the combination comprising: an outer cylinder substantially equal in diameter to said opening and having a mounting flange at the lower edge thereof securable to said upper surface around said opening; an inner cylinder slida'bly and snugly receivable within both said outer cylinder and said opening, said inner cylinder being mountable upon the wall of said opening and having a vent opening through the wall of said inner cylinder communicating with said air space; an axial flow fan and means for rotatably supporting same co-axially within said inner cylinder and on the upper edge thereof; a streamlined dome having a downwardly extending, peripheral flange surrounding said outer cylinder, the lower edge thereof defining a plane parallel with and spaced from said upper surface and intersecting said outer cylinder; brackets on said mounting flange spaced from said outer cylinder engaging said peripheral flange and supporting said dome; and a cylindrical baffle supported on and extending downwardly from said dome between said outer cylinder and said peripheral flange, said baflie being co-axial with said outer cylinder and extending below its upper edge.

FERN A. STRAWSINE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

